Pontius Pilate

In Mark’s Gospel

• Jesus was delivered to Pilate bound by the chief priests

  Mark 15:1

• Pilate asked, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "You have said so."

  Mark 15:2

• The chief priests accused Jesus of many things, but Jesus made no further answer — "so that Pilate was amazed"

  Mark 15:3-5

• At the Passover feast, Pilate offered to release a prisoner; the crowd, stirred by the chief priests, demanded Barabbas — a rebel and murderer

  Mark 15:6-11

Who they were

• ✦Politically calculating — knew Jesus was handed over out of envy (Mark 15:10; Matt 27:18), yet chose the crowd over justice (Mark 15:15)
• ✦Morally uneasy — amazed by Jesus's silence (Mark 15:5); warned by his wife's dream (Matt 27:19); tried to release him (John 19:12)
• ✦Ultimately weak — "wishing to satisfy the crowd" (Mark 15:15); the man with the power who surrendered it

Read about them

Faces of Faith

“Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” — Hebrews 12:1

A keepsake of Pontius Pilate’s story — the portrait on the front, the key moments on the back.